Exploring Digital Leadership Discourse: A Meta-Synthesis

In today’s digital age, the concept of leadership must be reconsidered through a new perspective. Although the fundamental competencies of leadership remain unchanged, the digital revolution demands new skills and capabilities to tackle new challenges within organizations. This paper presents a meta-synthesis on digital leadership, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the processes of digital leadership within organizations. Our study addresses the fundamental questions of "why" and "how" digital leadership occurs in the organizational context. We analyzed 35 qualitative articles and developed a conceptual model consisting of ten key building blocks. As a theoretical contribution, this model provides a comprehensive overview of the presence of digital leadership in organizations, using the theoretical lens of the Structuration Theory Model. It further identifies overlapping aspects with terms similar to e-leadership and IT leadership. From a practical perspective, the study offers valuable insight for those embarking on digital transformation journeys under the guidance of effective digital leadership.